A brief observation on tree climbing and Isaac Newton

A brief observation on tree climbing and Isaac Newton

Well lookie here, a post not-about writing. Weird, I know, but I’m feeling a little philosophical today, and don’t want to wait until the next Friday Morning FYI. Warning: this may be a little unorganized. Stream of consciousness, and all that. Indulge me 🙂

During a recent conversation, a friend mentioned tree climbing, and it’s been stuck in the back of my mind ever since – leaning back with it’s arm folded and feet on the coffee table, grinning mockingly, waiting for me to figure out why it struck a cord.

It’s not because an adult talking about climbing trees is odd to me (just the opposite – I was glad to hear it). It’s not because it was a strange thing for that friend to say. It fit her perfectly. So why?

And then, on the train this morning, with innumerable trees swinging and dancing past my window, it hit me: Newton’s Third Law: For every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction.

At this point, the tree climbing idea nodded and winked at me. Enigmatic little devil.

See, I’ve recently been doing a lot of research on different physics topics for my WIP, so Newton’s Third Law (which tells us that when you push against something, it pushes back) was itching at the edge of my memory, too. Apparently it and the tree climbing idea wanted to hang out and play Trivia Crack, or something.

So what’s the connection? Think about this: if something pushes back when you push it, that means when you climb into a tree, the tree responds by lifting you. Like it wants you to go higher. Like it enjoys you being with it, in it.

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